


Aftermath

by highwayKing



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Gen, Light Angst, Memory Loss, might have spelling errors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-11 00:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7867111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highwayKing/pseuds/highwayKing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The aftermath of Weirdmagedon for the Pines family.</p><p>First multy chapter fanfic where we take a look at what everyone was thinking.<br/>Will have, off course, some angst</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unknown

The light hurt his sensitive eyes, it was after all the first time he had ever opened them. Or so he thinks.

Everything was bright and birds were chirping in the forest that he had found himself in. Where was this? Why was he here? His mind was empty but at the same time it felt like it was stuffed with cotton and there was this faint feeling of confusion and strange turning of his stomach that left him feeling slightly ill and ready to throw up. It made it impossible to think. And there was this strange stale taste in his mouth that he didn’t know how he got.

And who was he, by the way?

Existence was so new to him, yet there was this nagging feeling of absence as if a bucket had been emptied and it longed for the water to fill it up again.

What a strange feeling.

His train of thought was stopped by newcomers, three of them. There was this elderly man and a young boy and a young girl who were strangely similar to each other. They weren’t in the best shape, bruises littered their bodies and they had this worried look on their faces that made him concerned. What happened that made them to look like that?

The girl, sweet little thing, came up to him and place a strange hat on his head. “Oh, my gosh! Grunkle Stan you did it!” she seemed genuinely happy as she placed her small hands on his shoulder.

“Oh, uh, hey there… kiddo. What’s your name?”       

A world shattered in the little girl, she had to be pulled away by his brother – he assumed he was her brother – to stop her from doing whatever she wanted to do as she called out to this ‘Grunkle Stan’ figure trying to prove him that ‘it’s her’.

He only wanted to know her name. Why act like this then?

It seemed that she was talking to him, but he was no ‘Grunkle Stan’, just him. He didn’t know how to refer to himself any other way than a simple him.

The elderly man explained that they had to erase this ‘Grunkle Stan’s’ mind for some reason, he wasn’t really paying attention. He was more distracted by the beautiful forest that was surrounding them. So peaceful and quiet. For some reason he liked it really much. Meanwhile the girl broke down crying, for why he didn’t know. What could be wrong in such a quiet place?

This unknown man stepped before him and he looked up at him. He looked sad and he couldn’t help but guess that this was because of this ‘Grunkle Stan’ guy and whatever happened with him.

“…He saved the world. He saved me.” The man got down to his knees and looked into his eye, it looked like he was ready to cry just like the little girl. “You are our hero, Stanley.”

Then he hugged him. It felt nice, although, he had no idea why. Who was Stanley, anyway?


	2. Mabel

Seeing Grunkle Stan getting hit in the face by a blue ray wasn’t scary per say. They had seen many frightening things the past days and so Mabel could watch without flinching but not without the worry that settled in her stomach as if she had swallowed a heavy rock.

There was really no other way. If they want to defeat Bill they have to do it through their Grunkle. But he won’t be all gone, he can’t be. That concept was just too foreign to her and even thinking about it scared her. After all, this is Grunkle Stan we are talking about, the man is tougher then Waddles’ chew toy, he is going to be just fine. So she held onto his fez for him, because she figured he would want it back.

But then when everything was done and over with and the apocalypse disappeared in the pink wave as if it was nothing and everything returned to its peaceful normalness she stepped up to her great uncle and placed the fez on his head where it belonged.

“Wow, Grunkle Stan, you did it!”

“Uh, hi there… kiddo. What’s your name?”

“Grunkle Stan? It’s me,” this has to be a cruel joke, he is just fooling around like always or his mind is a little fuzzy from the mind-wave-ma-jig. Right?

“Who are you talking to?”

He looked so confused and no amount of pleading seemed to get through him. He didn’t know. Grunkle Stan had no idea who he was, what they did, who _they_ were.

It felt like a world inside her shriveled up and died in a fire crash. Or so she wanted to believe it. Instead it felt like reality was knocking on the door, a cold realization. A few minutes before she was so sure, so, so sure that everything is going to be just fine. Now that the world was saved it still felt like it was going to end.

A part of her was glad that Dipper pulled her back from their amnesiac relative. Who knows if he would have freaked out if she would have jumped on him and hugged him around the neck.

“We had to erase his mind to defeat Bill. It’s all gone,” Great uncle Ford explained it to her, but she couldn’t believe it. She thought they were going to erase Bill! Not Grunkle Stan as well!

Mabel broke down sobbing and she was glad that Dipper was by her side as Stan didn’t even seem concerned by their distress. And why should he? They were strangers coming around and sobbing and calling him their Grunkle. He probably didn’t even know what a Grunkle is!

He followed them back to the Shack, though, without any complaint and he let her lead him by the hand.

It broke her heart to see Stan this way, all wide eyes and curious and looking at every which direction to take in the view of the forest that he had lived in for thirty years. Her Grunkle wasn’t like that. He was loud and grumpy and smelled like old people do, but he was always the one to look after them because they were the silly little kids. Now he looked like the one in need of protection, like he was a lost little puppy not understanding what’s happening around him.

When he slumped down into the armchair he joked about them looking like it was someone’s funeral. To tell the truth it sure felt like it.

But Mabel Pines wasn’t ready to accept defeat. They bereaved the end of the world they couldn’t give up right now. “I know my Grunkle Stan is in there somewhere!”

The scrap book! Off course! That had to help. She grabbed the pink book and hopped onto the armchair right beside Stan and she started reading from it showing him everything she had pictures of, every experience they sheared, their entire summer.

It didn’t work at first, but then Stan started remembering.

First he remembered Waddles’ name. Mable always knew that that pig was special.

Then he started to recall small things, like their names or little things about their daily lives then details of the stories that they haven’t told him yet or forgot. Gradually all of it comes back to him slowly but surely. Mabel couldn’t express how relived she was.

Soon all five of them were laughing at their ridiculous experiences.


	3. Ford

It was his fault.

This whole mess was because of his own arrogance and naivety combined into a concoction for a dream demon to gently stir in the right direction to have the world destroyed.

But now him and his brother were about to set everything right. They were ready to save their family, their town, their entire universe.

However, instead of the one responsible it was the brother that is going to be sacrificed for the greater good.

And there he stood, Stanford Pines, the genius, the interdimensional outlaw, and the worst brother in the universe, holding a memory eraser gun at Stan who was kneeling before them, unconscious and with a demonic triangle in his head.

And it was his fault.

Ford’s hands were shaking. How could it not? He was about to erase his brother’s memories, and with it the person he was, entirely without anything left. And the thought that he should be the one kneeling there made everything worse.

He couldn’t pull the trigger.

But the universe doesn’t care about what he could and could not do.

If he didn’t do it Cipher has the chance to escape and then all of them would be doomed. It was Stanley or the world. The choice was apparent. He couldn’t sacrifice the whole dimension to save his brother; they have come too far for that. If there would have been another choice, he would take it in the blink of an eye. The moment the blue wave hit Stan straight in the face Ford felt that he would rather watch the world burn then to standing here killing his brother in a technical sense.

When it was done the gun clattered on the ground. The ground shook and the weirdness was sucked back into whatever hell-hole they have crawled out of.

He had done it. Bill Cipher was dead, erased from this world never to be seen again. But it coasted dearly.

And it was his fault.

They found Stan in the forest.

Ford was relieved that he was able to speak, to form coherent sentences and questions. He was happy that he didn’t completely fry his brother’s mind. But he painfully reminded him of a three year old.

Mabel was distraught. Ford could understand, he didn’t spoke that much  with his grandniece since he arrived but he gathered that she and Stan were close. Her crying only fueled his guilt more.

Finally he hugged his brother. He could imagine how much Stan wanted this, to be just nice to each other. Maybe this whole mess could have been different. Maybe Stan would hug him back not just stare ahead stupidly. 

Some brother he turned out to be. He almost ended the world, robbed the kids of their great uncle, single handedly destroyed his brother’s hopes and dreams not once but twice and did nothing but sulk over what happened forty years ago.

It was a miracle that the kids didn’t hate him or blamed him.

They went back to the shack that could barely be called that at all. It was in ruins, Ford wondered if the rest of the town was like that.

Dear Mabel’s attempt at bringing back Stan’s memories via the scrapbook she had made the summer was heartbreaking. It went against logic. But Ford was willing to take that logic and throw it out the broken window. He wanted to cling to the hope that Stan could come back. So he stood behind the recliner and waited for any telltale sign that his brother might return.

He looked at the pictures of the wired extraordinary summer the three had. For a moment he allowed himself to wonder if he too could have shared the experience if he moved out from his basement just a little.

Nothing happened. Stan was just as oblivious to their identity as the moment they found him. Ford was ready to give up and give in. Accept it that he had destroyed his brother.

But then Stan had said that pig’s name – was it Mable’s pet? – and the memories as if on command started flowing back to him, slowly but surely.

It was more than he could have asked for. The kids got excited and started reciting everything they could possibly remember from their summer. And when Stan affirmed that he indeed remembers this and that or when he himself put his own two cents in nearly made Ford cry in joy.

He put his hand above a breast pocket on his coat. Inside was a cherished picture of two young boys who were them once upon a time with a bright dream of sailing around the world. He couldn’t wait to show it to Stan.

And maybe, just maybe, he would still want to sail with him.


	4. Dipper

All Dipper could think about was how unfair this whole thing was.

They never asked for any of this. None of them wanted to run around in the apocalyptic wasteland of the town or being stuck in crazy rainbow collared nightmare bubbles or to be almost killed by a demonic triangle. And they certainly didn’t ask to have their great uncle’s mind erased.

Dipper was never that close to Stan as Mable was. But he still loved the old man even if he was annoying and they didn’t see eye to eye most of the time.

It was hard to hold back his sister from tackling the man that had no idea who they were and who he was. It was hard to not join Mabel and jump on Stan and hug him until he could remember who they were.

All he could do was try not to cry and pull his hat over his head to cover the shine in his eyes that would give him away. It was enough that Mabel was crying right beside him.

He went ahead to the shack.

It was a mess, all broken down and looked like as if it was abandoned for years. The windows were broken, the roof had sunk in, beams askew and weed and whatever was growing everywhere, more than it usually was.

The door wouldn’t open. Thankfully, he could break it down. The old wood was abused enough to give away to a weak little kid like him.

He held Stan’s hand as they lead him in to the former living room.

Stan never let them hold his hand. There was never a reason for him to lead them around like they were six year olds. First Dipper thought that it was because they were nearly strangers to him and he to them; letter he thought that he was just afraid of letting them too close, closer than they already had.

He was holding it together better than Mabel. Mainly because Stan was still around, he was the same guy, right? Even if he can’t remember some of his personality was still there and it showed through his attempt at jokes.

“What’s with the long faces? You act like someone just died.”

In a sense someone did

Now, Dipper could feel how hopeless this whole scenario was. They saw what a memory eraser gun could do; they learned what happened with McGucket. Those things don’t just come back. So what was the point of the whole victory if they lost Grunkle Stan practically forever.

He only halfheartedly believed that the scrapbook would help. But it was better to give it a try then to sit and do nothing.

And when it did work Dipper was bewildered, glad and relieved all at once. For once he didn’t question it like he did with everything the whole summer. He didn’t want to look for a logical explanation that would explain everything he had knew about memory erasing. If it helped it helped, and now that was more than enough. After all, even McGucket got his memories back.

So he leaned back and listened to Mabel reading to Stan. He heard those little notes his sister made a thousand times. She insisted that he would listen to it the moment she was done with the page. He groaned then and only listened because he didn’t want to find plastic dinosaurs in his breakfast next day. Oddly he didn’t mind rehearing them.

Those were so long ago, a whole summer ago. He almost couldn’t believe it that it was true.

Now that he thinks about it was hard to imagine that these things did really happen. He slightly wondered if Stan would even believe half of it.

However, looking up at him told him that not only believed them, but understood them as well. He knew what happened. He remembered.

At that moment Dipper felt that nothing was for naught. They were truly victorious. Bill couldn’t take down not a single Pines with him and that was something to be truly proud of.


	5. Soos

Whatever happened after they have blacked out must have been amazingly awesome because the next thing Soos could remember was falling onto the ground of the fearamid and then further down as the bricks floated out from under them and were sucked into the rift on the sky. They landed on the ground miraculously without breaking every bone in their bodies, and they could only watch as the creatures and monsters brought on by the apocalypse were pulled back like the rift was a giant vacuum cleaner.

Then the sky healed itself and with a flash and a pink wave everything turned back to normal. As if it was only a nightmare that finally was over and their injuries were the only reminder that it was in fact reality.

After making sure that his dear abuelita was alright and that she went back home to vacuum the house, Soos decided to go looking for the rest of his family.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to find.

He was so happy and relieved when he saw all four Pines coming to the Shack that wasn’t in its best shape, and that was only putting it lightly. They looked like they had seen better days, but that could have been said to anyone in Gravity Falls right now. They also seemed sad as they came closer. Dipper in front then Mabel leading Stan by the hand who was looking at the destruction around them that the weirdness wave didn’t fix, and lastly there was Ford who walked only shy behind his brother. Soos cached how Ford slipped Stan’s suit jacket up on his shoulder. It was an odd gesture but he thought nothing about it past that.

The news hit him like a truck and as they walked into the destroyed Shack it felt like the world was crumbling around him.

“Who is that big guy crying in the corner?”

Soos couldn’t stand it. He turned away and pulled his cap over his eyes. Stan really didn’t remember anything. Ten years, ten meaningful wonderful years of their boss-employee relationship were erased to save the universe.

He knew that they should be happy. They survived the apocalypse and defeated a demon and were still alive to see what the future holds. But what would that future be if his favorite person in the whole world doesn’t even remembers their names.

Mabel came up with an idea. That scrap book of hers was they only silver lining, she flipped through it and Stan looked at every picture with growing concern. Soos was standing behind the armchair looking over Mr. Pines’ shoulder and hoping against the odds that he would remember.

“I’m sorry,” Stan said and he sounded just as desperate as they were. “I don’t know what this is or who you are.”

There was really no going back. Soos accepted it, or started to. After all Mr. Pines was Mr. Pines even if he remembered or not. Things won’t be the same from now on like everyone hoped but it would be somehow, they can figure it out.

Then Waddles did the unthinkable and Soos silently agreed that the pig from now on only deserves the best snacks the Shack has to offer.

Waddles jumped at Stan out of nowhere and started licking his face with passionate love that a little piglet could give. Stan off course didn’t like it.

“Quit it Waddles! I try to remember my life’s story!”

Everyone’s eyes shined up. Could it be?

“What did you say?” Dipper asked as to make sure they weren’t just hearing things.

“I said get Waddles off of me,” Stan grumbled and put the pig down.

“It’s working!”

“Turn to my page!” Soos quickly told Mabel who happily flipped through her book. “He has to remember our boss-employee relationship.”

“Just because I have amnesia don’t try to give yourself a pay raise, Soos.”

He couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment the when Stan said his name.

Soos was certain that he would remember with time and lots of patients but they are going to get their beloved Mr. Pines back.


	6. Waddles

Everything turned crazy, so crazy that a little pig like him couldn’t even comprehend. Waddles couldn’t understand what was happening around him or why did everything change in a flash. But he was more than happy to have everything turned back to normal. He never noticed how green and lush the forest was until it was dead and burned up. However, he still didn’t get how this all happened.

Gompers was back to his normal size and he was munching around on some grass around the shack. He wasn’t too bothered by whatever was around him. Waddles couldn’t blame him, he as well, wanted to lie down and enjoy a little rest.

The shack was in shambles, but, oh well, it didn’t matter, because everything was going to be alright. Especially when Mabel returns, because nothing can be okay as long as she isn’t around.  

But Waddle’s was certain that his favorite little human was on her way back home, and then they all could return under the roof of their home that luckily was still standing. He wouldn’t want to stand outside for too long. Last time when that happened a giant flying monster carried him away. That was terrifying, but his humans saved him and so everything was fine.

He was certain. His humans were big, strong and confident; they wouldn’t let anything bad happen. He was just a cute little pig, but he knew thing only pigs can know.

But when his humans arrived something wasn’t right. Mabel was leading Grunkle Stan by the hand, and something was wrong with him. He wasn’t gruff, nor did he have his brows furrowed, nor was he smiling, showing of his teeth. Instead he looked at everything as if he was searching for something or as if he had never seen this place before. But that couldn’t be, Grunkle Stan lived here before him, everyone lived here before him – well expect the man who looked like Grunkle Stan, just as Dipper looked like Mabel – he should know what everything was.

It was odd. However, Waddles wasn’t too concerned. His humans were smart too. They could figure this out.

But he still didn’t like how sad they looked. So he followed close as Dipper broke down the shack’s door so that they could enter. He would have liked to wait inside for his humans, but the door was jammed.

All of them went inside. The house was a wreck. Nothing how Waddles remembered it being, cozy and warm, but it still held the familiarity of home, and the grass growing inside was a nice touch in his opinion.

Grunkle Stan went to sit in his armchair. Good, that was his place, no matter how many times he and the kids have sat in it, that chair still belonged to Grunkle Stan and he recognized it. Satisfied that everything was okay, Waddles took his own place right beside the foot of the armchair on the carpet that was now worn by more than his little pig feet.

He was ready to go back to sleep as everything had gone back to normal. He didn’t have a decent nap in what felt like ages, he was too agitated for that.

But the people around him were still not alright. He could hear how Soos was crying. Then everyone gathered around Grunkle Stan and they were talking to him in a sad, sad tone that Waddles didn’t like.

He looked up at them with his beady eyes, but they didn’t look back down at him or scratched him behind his ear that he loved so much. No, they looked at Stan with such sad eyes that he only see puppies look when he was still living on the farm as a piglet. And Grunkle Stan looked at the pink book on his lap that Mabel was holding.

Mabel was very proud of that book full of colors and silly little things called ‘pictures’ and ‘stickers’. Things that Waddles didn’t understood, nor knew what purpose they served. He knew for a long time now that humans loved to do unnecessary things with their books and money and board games and what not. Waddles knew better then to waste time with meaningless things, he spent his days like every honorable pig would: he searched for food, slept, rolled in the mud, played with Mabel and searched for food, or did he said that already?

First Waddles thought that they were upset over the book. Silly little humans, didn’t they know that books could be fixed even if you chew on its papers? Or so he thought, because humans could fix anything. So they could fix the book as well, right?

But it wasn’t the book they were sad about, he noticed with his sharp little eyes and sensitive floppy ears.

It was Grunkle Stan who was broken.

He couldn’t remember the summer or anything.

Waddles frowned. To the humans this would have come off as the pig tilting his head to the right and narrowing his eyes lightly as if he was wondering if he could snatch the man’s fez. Instead he was thinking real serious thought.

Grunkle Stan looked fine, a little lost and distressed and scratched here and there, but fine. He was always known for not telling the truth, Waddles heard a thousand times how he tricks the people coming here. And, if they forgot, it was impossible for Grunkle Stan to get hurt. He saved him from the flying beast! He rode on its back and punched it right in the face! Surely he was playing a ‘prank’ on them.     

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what this is or who you are.”

It’s time to expose you, old conman!       

And he jumped and mercilessly started licking his stubbled face. Just as he expected, Stan jumped up holding him. “Get Waddles off of me!”

That was more like it. Stan sat back in the chair, the people still around him. Waddles laid down comfortable in Stan’s lap knowing that the old man was remembering him and it all was a bad joke of his. He didn’t get why they were still taking over the picture book, but, after all, humans were silly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I couldn't find the time to update.


	7. Wendy

Wendy stepped into the destroyed living room of the Mystery Shack. After everything calmed down and shock wear off she went to look for the Pines family, after she made sure hers was fine. She didn’t expect to run into Soos on her way to the Shack – where she suspected they would go – or that Soos was actually looking for her.

On their way Soos told her everything that happened; that Mr. Pines lost all of his memories in order to erase Bill. By the way he looked Wendy could imagine that this was really hard on the guy, he still had red and puffy eyes from crying but for some reason he was smiling. When she asked about it his eyes shined up.

Mr. Pines was remembering things, slowly but surely. And while he didn’t know everything yet the kids were working hard to make him remember this summer spent together and from there, well, they just have to hope for the best.

Soos was hopeful, it radiated off of him like light from a strobe light. This amount of confidence turned even Wendy’s frown into a smile.

The mission was simple: talk to Mr. Pines, see if anything gets jogged in his head and try until it does. Childs play.

But the moment she had her eyes on Mr. Pines she was halted. Not like there was anything wrong with him it’s just… Wendy had never seen him like this. He looked like a completely new person; he was wide eyed and listened to Mabel as she was reading from her pink glittery scrap book beside him and listened eagerly when Dipper explained things. Behind the armchair Ford looked over their heads and listened carefully. It was apparent that he didn’t had many things to say regarding this summer but he kept on listening politely and, she could imagine that he was curious about what these three were up to the whole season. By the way she was as well.

“I brought her, dudes!” Soos announced their presence.

“Hi,” she said keeping it cool.

“Oh, Grunkle Stan, this is Wendy,” Mabel introduced her turning to Stan.

Wendy stepped inside on hand in her pocket the other stretched for a shake as if she was greeting an old fiend instead of her boss. Stan looked at her hand then shook it gingerly. He gave a small smile as he looked up at her.

Mr. Pines never acted that way, but it was cool. She had to introduce herself first. “Wendy Corduroy, I work the register in the gift shop.”

Stan nodded that he understood but she could see that there was uncertainty in a way he looked at her. A little pang of sadness rose in her, but she could be cool about this, she was ice after all. And she didn’t think that Stan needed another emotional breakdown before him.

Wendy went to Mabel’s side of the armchair and leaned against it. “So what should I do?”

“Just tell us stories with Grunkle Stan in it,” Dipper offered. “How about how you got hired? You never told us.”

“Ah, that’s not so interesting,” she shrugged and told them how one day when she visited the Shack out of curiosity she was immediately landed with a cashier job for the summer with little to no explanation.

She was fine with it since it meant that she didn’t have to go to her cousins for the summer. And she liked the job even if she slacked off most of the time – yes she admitted to it.

“Then why did I agree to keep you working here?”

“Cause you couldn’t fire me.”

They laughed, Stan just looked on confused.

To lighten his mood she told him a story that would probably get him to smile. There was once an attempted robbery at the Shack. The guy had a gun but little brain, he demanded money swinging the gun around and pointing it at everyone he could see. The tourists were frightened some were filming the whole thing on their phones instead of calling for help.

She wasn’t behind the counter at the time, she was on sucker duty so she was mixed with the crowd and was debating what she should do. That’s when Stan stepped out from the crowd and punched the dude right in the kisser. The guy stumbled back and was lamenting over a lost tooth when Wendy decided to put in her own two cents. She steppe behind the would-be robber and with a well-aimed kick in the – ahem, she shouldn’t say that in front of kids – she managed to disarm him.

The guy was rolling on the gift shop’s floor as Stan called Sheriff Bulbs laughing to come and scrap the guy of the ground.

“Yeah, but what did you do to him?” Stan asked, that was the unfortunate sign that he didn’t remember the incident.

“Well, let’s just say that he serves ham and eggs without eggs from there on,” she joked.

“Yeah, so true,” Soos nodded.

“I still don’t get it.”

“You don’t have to, Mr. Pines,” Wendy reassured him, although with a little less enthusiasm. “The guy was taken in and we closed early and that was it.”

Story followed story as the day went on and by the time the clock hit ten the kids were out of it, sleeping, leaning against their great uncle. Ford offered to take the kids to bed in Soos’ rest room. The stairs were in a horrible condition and he didn’t want to climb them and that room was the one that was left in some decent shape. Soos had to go too to see his abuelita, although, it was apparent that he didn’t want to leave Stan’s side not for a moment when he finally started to remember him.   

Only Wendy and Stan remain in silence.

She felt like she should say something, and she was good with words when she needed to, but now looking at Mr. Pines  who suddenly reminded her of her little brothers it was hard. This person wasn’t her boss anymore but rather a child experiencing the world again and welcomed the stories as if they weren’t about him but of a different person altogether.

They weren’t that close, but it still stung to see him like this. She couldn’t even imagine what where the others feeling, them who were actually close to Stan.

But she couldn’t imagine the other perspective either. Not remembering anything, this day is literarily the first day of your life and all of these unknown people cry left and right for reasons you could not understand. She couldn’t imagine the guilt he must feel for it, for not remembering. She could see it on his face as he turned it down and staring at the thorn carpet and the grass that was growing from the cracks.

“Mr. Pines.”

Stan reacted slowly as if he had been daydreaming and realized latter that he had been called. He glance up at her, she was still standing there leaning against the armchair with her arms leisurely crossed.

“You know what you did was extraordinary, right?”

“I don’t know what I did,” he admitted turning back to the carpet.

“Did they tell you?”

“They did, yes. I just can’t remember it,” he said sounding more sheepish by the minute. “I don’t get what’s the big deal.”

“Yeah, well, erasing a single man’s memories to save the entire universe it’s not a big deal,” she said and from the corner of her eyes she could see the surprise on Stan’s face. “But for that person and for those who knew him it is a pretty big sacrifice. And to be the one to not just volunteer but come up with the idea is pretty badass in my book.”

“You think?” Stan’s eyes shined up.

“Yeah,” she smiled down at him. “And don’t worry about your memories. We will get them back one way or another. And if not then,” she shrugged her shoulders, “it’s no biggie.”

“You know what? I’m glad I didn’t fire you.”

“Me too,” Wendy laughed off handedly.

“And now I get your joke from before,” Stan said smiling. “Tell me one thing. Did he cry?”

“Oh, that isn’t even a question.”


	8. Stanley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of all this chapter is my absolute favorite. It's not big or anything, I just happen to love it.

Everything was clear now. Well, not everything-everything, but he certainly knew more than when he ‘woke up’. Now he at least knew who he was and what he was. And even if there were still giant black spots in his mind he was sure that those would be filled in when the time comes.

He felt giddy to tell the truth. It wasn’t every day that you got to find out who you were – at least he thought it wasn’t.

Some things he heard were pretty crazy: fighting a horde of zombies, rebuilding an interdimensional portal, fighting a dream demon that started the apocalypse and winning. He was a pretty impressive guy, wasn’t he?

Stan faintly remembered these really happening. At first Stan was skeptical of these things being true. The world was really new to him, who knew if these things were the norm or not. But the kids reassured him that these things were in fact reality. What a strange place they lived in.

He was intrigued and listened carefully. It turned out that the stories were either a hit or miss. Some made him remember almost instantaneously, others draw a blank line. He felt bad then, like he was disappointing them or something. But that didn’t mean that he won’t remember eventually, at least he said that to reassure the people.

Stan too wish to have his memories back. It seemed like he had lived an interesting life, judging by the summer he just had.

He was so tiered at the end of the day. Stan had no idea that reminiscing could take away so much energy from a person.

Ford, who he was told was his twin brother, showed him where his room was, then he left to find a place for him to sleep. The room was a mess. Just like anywhere else in the shack the grass and weed was growing happily between the cracks of the floorboards, cloths and some knickknacks were scattered on the ground, some were broken and the heavy looking closet had fallen over.  

However, Stan was willing to sweep all his complaints he might have about the room under the carpet. He was really tiered and even the broken but still standing bed was a welcoming sight. Picking up the cover and shaking it he got rid of most of the debris that had fallen from the ceiling, the bed however was still full with leaves and blades of grass. How they got there he had no idea and at the moment he didn’t care. He cleaned it as much as he could be bothered to, then slumped down on the mattress and pulled the cover around him.

Still, as tired he was he couldn’t go to sleep. Maybe it was because how cold the room got at night; or maybe because everything that happened today was still swarming in his head. It was his first day living – technically it wasn’t, but that’s how he saw it at the moment – and it was a confusing mess. He was ridden with guilt the moment his family found him, even as he couldn’t remember at the moment he was saddened by their sorrowful faces.

That feeling didn’t have time to evaporate from his body yet and Stan didn’t know how to deal with it. How could he? After all he had never felt anything like this before. Then he remembered that technically he must have. He lived for a while it was impossible not to. He wished to remember so that he would know how to handle this whole situation he found himself on the middle of.

Then he started wondering. How strange it was to have a life past of what you can recall. It was scary to think about it.

He wanted to find out more and he couldn’t wait for tomorrow and continue where they left of looking through the scrapbook. But he couldn’t help but wonder what was his life before that scrapbook, before this summer. Was it good? Bad? Mediocre? However, he couldn’t help but worry if he wasn’t the hero he was portrayed as.

It was a possibility and he would hate to disappoint everyone. They seemed so nice and caring.

He was twisting and turning in bed with these thoughts in his head. Through the broken window the chilling night air seeped inside. Thankfully Stan could only feel it on his cheeks as the rest of his body was wrapped tightly in the sheets that kept his body heat and warmed him. Looking out he could only see oil blackness, it was so different from the bright day light in which he had woken up.

He remembered what they told him. Summer was over and autumn took its place. Everything is going to be colder now with every day until winter comes. Then it would snow and it would be really cold, probably more so then it was now in the room. Stan shivered. As much as he might have wanted to see what snow looked like he wasn’t looking forward to freeze. Maybe they could get this place fixed up. It could be all nice and ready till the winter days, he didn’t wanted the kids to be cold.

Oh, yeah, right. The kids aren’t going to be here. They only stayed for the summer.

Stan wondered if they could maybe visit in the winter. He had to ask. But what if they couldn’t come?

He wished that someone told him what is coming after winter, or if there would be another summer again. Tomorrow he is going to make it his first priority to ask about these things, but now he really should sleep. Ford warned him about how important it was for the body to get a full rest. He didn’t know much about it, but he probably had robbed his body already from the sleep it needed.

Stan felt childish as he pulled the cover over his head. As if the cover could block out all the questions in his head. But he thought that maybe if he didn’t see anything then his mind would stop wondering about them. And who knew, it worked. In a couple of minutes spent in complete silence and peace Stan had fallen asleep randomly. He didn’t even know only that there was darkness and then he could faintly see washed out images of a forest and children playing with some colorful things. He was there to although he had no idea what he was doing. But he could hear laughter and talk and that was enough to settle his rapid heart.

This was something good. Maybe it happened too? He got to ask them next time he got the chance.         

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is, finally updated, it had been legendarily late since this was posted on my tumblr page like a month ago and I'm ashamed that I didn't get around to posting it sooner, but what can I do. So sorry for that.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and if you have the time I would appreciate if you would comment, it makes my day even if I see it a hundred and plus days later, it really does.
> 
> All in all, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed your stay :)  
> \---  
> There is another story I'm going to be posting today that is longer then this, but this time I hurry to be consistent, that as well had already been posted on tumblr but I believe it will get more exposure here on the Archive.


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